DADU: The World Bank’s support mission, currently visiting the province, said on Thursday that climate resilient infrastructure be given top priority in Sindh, which was battered twice by flood disasters in 2010 and 2022.

The mission led by Task Team Leader for Sindh Flood Emergency Reha-bilitation Project, Ahsan Tehsin, which attended technical briefing on strengthening, and raising of Flood Protective embankment at Hamal Lake in Fareedabad town damaged by last year’s flashflood, said that Pakistan was badly affected by climate change induced disasters like floods, droughts, cyclones and heat-wave and Sindh was the worst affected.

“Flash floods that originated in Balochistan caused havoc on the right bank of Indus River and mainly the districts of Dadu, Qambar-Shahdadkot and Jamshoro,” said Shamsul Haq Jafrani, member of the mission, said during the briefing.

He said that World Bank through the Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project was supporting the province by rehabilitating and strengthening damaged irrigation and drainage infrastructure,” he said.

Under the project cuts were plugged on an emergency basis to drain out floodwater and enable farmers to cultivate wheat crop along FP and Suprio dykes, said Jafrani.

He said that in the second phase of the project, rehabilitation and strengthening of the FP dyke was being undertaken to enable it to withstand the pressure of flashfloods in future.

He said the work had been started on FP dyke to protect big towns and barrage area of the province from floodwater coming from Balochistan,” said Aijaz Shaikh, an irrigation expert of World Bank.

He said that following experiences of last year’s flood, the FP dyke was being raised by four feet with stone pitching. The FP bund in Sindh was 182 kilometers long and it was 48 kilometers in Balochistan. In last year’s floods 15 to 18 feet high floodwater overtopped the dyke and caused breaches and widespread damage, he said.

He said the dyke was as old Sukkur barrage built in 1932 mainly to protect the barrage and populated areas, big towns and agriculture land from flashfloods. ”In last year’s monsoon, Sindh witnessed extremely heavy rainfall in Khirthar Hills resulting in massive flooding in Kashmore, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Lar-kana, Dadu and Jamshoro and other populated areas,” said Ali Tauqeer Shaikh, climate change expert of World Bank.

He said that Sindh had become the most vulnerable province to climate change effects and prone to such high intensity events in future. “The project will improve the flood protection infrastructure, irrigation and drainage network and small flood detention dams will be built under it to reduce the damage caused by flashfloods,” said Nasir Ali Panhwar, social safeguard and environment specialist of Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project.

Acting project director Shakil Ahmed said at the briefing that the Hamal lake dyke stretched over 330-RDs to 430-RDs and it stored 0.3 million acres feet of water.

Water from mountain ranges in Balochistan and Sindh flowed into Hamal Lake, then went into Manchhar Lake through Main Nara Valley Drain by developing high pressure along the lake’s embankments. All breaches in Hamal Lake had been plugged and its embankments were being raised, he said.

The mission visited damaged portions of FP dyke in Fareedabad area. The mission members also included Tiaznia Smith, Mishka Zaman, Sana Ahmed, Farha Yaminn Khan, Ms Nihan Rafiq, Ms Amna Memon and Shahid Suhail.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2023